Rubbish in the environment – What do I do?
Rubbish comes visible during the spring and we get a lot of feedback about it. Many people wonder who would be responsible for cleaning up the rubbish. Now you can check from the waste sheet who to contact. You can report rubbish on the city land to our feedback service. Rubbish that poses an immediate risk of environmental pollution is always reported to the emergency department at 112.
The litterer or the landowner is responsible for cleaning up the rubbish in the environment. The rule of thumb is for the litterer to clean the area they litter. If the litterer is not discovered, the responsibility for cleaning lies with the holder of the area or the landowner. This can mean an individual, company, association, community, city or government.
But who should be notified? Who should clean the area? So if you find rubbish, waste or anything that needs to be cleaned up in the environment, you can report it:
- In the event of environmental damage, make sure does it have an immediate danger to the environment or health. If yes, call 112.
- If you know the litterer or the owner of a littered area, mention it directly to them.
- Check who handles the matter and where to contact: espoo.fi/litter
- Report non-urgent matters in the feedback service(external link, opens in a new window) and especially if the place is on city lands. The report goes to the littering supervising authority, street maintenance or the maintenance of parks and green areas. It will be easier to resolve the matter if your feedback contains information about the location and photos.
It will be easier to resolve the matter if you know the landowner. From the Espoo Map Service(external link, opens in a new window), you can find out if the destination is on city land.
The city receives a lot of feedback. In the feedback service to the City of Espoo during 2021, we received 32,250 feedbacks, the majority of which, about 52%, were on Streets and Traffic and about 15% on Parks, Nature and the Environment.
Many environmental nuisances only come to the attention of the city upon the notification of the residents. The feedback service allows you to ensure that the problem is brought to the attention of the authorities and can be addressed. Residents also often have the best knowledge of the state of their neighbourhood, so good cooperation between residents and the authorities is of paramount importance.